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A CAMPUS DEFINED BY LANDFORM

Landform is the backbone of the campus. It is fundamental in de!ning the Canberra landscape and the University’s place within that landscape. "e shaping of this landform is the basis for a campus character translating the regional setting for campus users.

Landform is used to de!ne the Concourse and the Academic Core, and identify and form speci!c areas throughout the wider campus.

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!e geology of the site is displayed at College Street. It o"ers a timeless and unbreakable link to place and a sense of calm permanence as a backdrop to the pace of campus life

THE UNIVERSITY CUT: ARRIVAL IN A LANDFORM ROOM

College Street, with engineered landform, exposed geology and distant views, creates a dramatic arrival and departure experience for the University.

!e exposed geology provides a "tting introduction to the natural systems that the campus character is built around. !e distant views a connection to the broader regional landscape. !e massive engineered cuts a human presence within the landscape.

College Street becomes the principal bus station and drop-o# point for the campus.A broad platform forms an Arrival Square and a terrace for the Great Hall.!e Great Hall is raised above the platform providing an undercro$ for a University receptionand café. A broad ramp incised into the platform leads to the Academic Core.

Above: !e exposed geology of the cuts Right: !e ‘landform room’ #anked by engineered cuttings framing a view to distant mountains

To Concourse

Above: !e arrival square within a ‘landform room’

Arrival Square

Rock Cuts View to mountains

Rock Cuts

Great Hall

To C

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College StreetGreat HallArrival Square

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THE ACADEMIC CORE: EXISTING CONDITION

UniversityCut

Concourse Ridge / Saddle

University Lawn University Hill

Lake Ginninderra University GreenLower Ground

Playing Field Platforms

!e Academic Core is strung along a ridge. It stretches from the engineered University Cut at its south to the natural sweep of University Hill to its north. !is duality of engineered cut and natural hill brings a strong internal logic to the heart of the campus, while views to distant mountain ranges capture the power of the Canberra landscape within the central space of the Concourse.

Terraces along the edges of the Concourse intensify the experience of being on a ridge.Viewing points and view corridors connect the academic core and the broader campus to the regional landscape.

EDGE TERRACES!e ground of the ridge is extended through a series of ‘edge terraces’. !ese terraces increase the drama of the ridge condition forming arrival terraces that de"ne the transition between the Concourse and the wider campus.

!e Great Hall Terrace [1] , Chancellery Terrace [2] and Vice Chancellors Terrace [3] step down from College Street to the Concourse forming broad platforms for the principle University buildings.!e Refectory Terrace [4] connects the Concourse and Refectory by broad stairs to Kirinari Street, the University Lawn and the sporting facilities beyond.!e existing stepped Concourse Green Terrace [5] links the Concourse to the north-eastern campus.!e Northern Terrace [6] extends the level of the Concourse westward capturing sweeping views to the University Green and over the Belconnen Valley to the distant mountain ranges. !e Learning Terraces [7] step down from the Forum Building to the Green providing opportunities for outdoor tutorials and lectures. !ese terraces continue on from the stepped theatre in the ground #oor of the Forum Building [7a], the whole forming a series of stepped platforms available for formal and informal learning and social activities.!e Southern Terrace [8] links the Concourse and the Green providing a transitional terrace which forms the "rst of the stepping productive garden terraces of the wider campus. It is the principal gateway to the Concourse for pedestrians from the Belconnen Town Centre, the event spaces of the Green and the student residences.

!e existing landform setting of the campus

Edge terraces such as the Southern Terrace [8] will extend the sense of the Concourse ridge into the wider campus

PLAN KEY:

1. Great Hall Terrace

2. Chancellory Terrace

3. Vice Chancellors Terrace

4. Refectory Terrace

5. Concourse Green Terrace

6. Northern Terrace

7. Learning Terraces

8. Southern Terrace

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Key views draw the sense of the regional landscape into the campus, anchoring the viewer !rmly in the place

VIEWS AND VISTASViews over the broader landscape are an integral part of the experience of the ridge condition.

!e buildings of the Academic Core encircle the Concourse creating a space with an inward focus divorced from the broader landscape. However, when a view to the distant landscape and mountains opens between buildings it is dramatic, suddenly drawing the regional landscape into the heart of the university. Key viewing corridors from the Concourse through the western campus maintain such dramatic views to the distant mountain ranges.

!e elevated platforms and expansive spaces of the playing "elds capture sweeping views of the hills to the north and northeast. !ese views are of a di#erent character to those from the Concourse being from a valley $oor to surrounding hills

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RIDGE AND VALLEY!e natural landform is generated largely by the action of water on geology creating branching and interlocking networks of ridge and valley. !e local expression is a landform of low so"ly contoured eroded hills and shallow valleys.

Within the Academic Core, the Concourse has a character more of the ridge on the western side and more of the valley on the eastern side. !is simple juxtaposition brings to the heart of the campus an expression of the regional landform; the dry ridge and ephemeral watercourse.

!is expression of ridge and valley extends from the Academic Core into the broader campus determining the distribution of vegetation and surface treatment. Valleys run beside streets and paths, and through courts between buildings mapping the course of the water treatment train.

ConcourseRidge & ValleyValley Lines

Dual edge conditions of ridge line and valley will characterise the campus

Valley Lines

THE WIDER CAMPUSLarge scale constructed landforms together with the cohesive tree plantations of the wider campus will de#ne massive spaces. Mounds, berms, terraces and cuts order the landscape providing functional spaces for sport, performance, agriculture, outdoor learning and passive recreation and relaxation. !ese landform elements channel water and de#ne built edges, becoming landmarks through their scale and sculptural form.

PLAN KEY:

1. Sculpted berms containing event space

2. Terraced landforms for productive gardens

3. Embankment to contain University Green

4. Landform platforms for playing !elds

5. Sunken University Lawn

6. Cuts for water bodies

7. Terraces

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A CAMPUS SUSTAINED BY WATER

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WATER BRINGS THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURE TO LIFE!e presence of water is to be celebrated rather than concealed, directed through rills, rain gardens, wetlands and swales and aligned with pathways to heighten legibility.

Harvesting of site water is the most cost e"ective approach to providing a sustainable campus water supply. A water train originating from the Arrival Square at College Street diverges to all parts of the campus, following the landform valleys and paralleling the circulation paths collecting, channeling, concentrating, detaining and distributing surface water.

!e sustainable provision of water through a water treatment train:

PLAN KEY:

1. Rills that collect, transfer & celebrate water

2. Permeable hard surface collection

3. Bio-retention swales

4. Rain gardens

5. Aeration

6. Wetlands

7. Detention basins / turf over subsurface tanks

THE WATER TREATMENT TRAIN!e water treatment train runs through the campus, collecting and treating water as it responds to the landform.

A plan of the proposed water treatment train

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Rills collect and transport watermaking collection visible

Permeable surfaces allow waterto soak through, to immediately irrigate, or else be collected

Swales and Raingardens allow water to pool and pond throughout the streets and squares. Water is treated with sedges and reeds: the Green !read.

Aeration and solar exposure improves water quality.

Wetlands store and treat large volumes of collected water, attracting birds and creating cool microclimates.

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View of University Green detention basin